Gaming Guru

By John Grochowski
Double Bonus Poker once was one of the games I played most, but I’d fallen out of the habit in recent years because pay table reductions had taken the fun out of the game.

In December, when I found a bank of machines with 9/7/5 (9-for-1 on full houses, 7-for-1 on flushes, 5-for-1 on straights) Double Bonus, a 99.11% game with expert play, I just had to give it a go. Other at the bank were playing 9/6 Double Double Bonus, a 98.98% game.

It wasn’t quite up to the 100.17% 10/7/5 Double Bonus that used to be my main video poker game, but it seemed like a breath of fresh air next to the 9/6/4, 96.38% version many casinos have adopted.

Just three hands into my session, I held a 5, 6 and 10 of hearts and discarded a 2 of spades and a 9 of diamonds. I drew two more hearts, and the meter racked up 35 credits with my five-coin bet and 7-for-1 payback.

I told him I wouldn’t on his Double Double Bonus game either, but with the 7-for-1 flush payback it was the best play available to me.

He nodded and went back to his own game, while I focused on mine.

It did take some focus getting back into Double Bonus because the strategy calls for plays that would be unusual in different games. Here are a few samples:

9 of clubs, 6 of clubs, 3 of clubs, 2 of diamonds, 10 of spades

In most games, it’s best to discard all five cards and get a complete redraw. But the 7-for-1 return on flushes means that in Double Bonus Poker, we’ll hold three cards of the same suit even if there’s no chance at a straight flush. Average return per five coins wagered in 9/7/5 DB is 1.82 coins if you hold the three clubs vs. 1.64 for the redraw.

Ace of spades, Queen of spades, 8 of spades, 5 of clubs, 2 of hearts

Even with two high cards, three suited cards can be worth our while provided one of the high cards is an ace. Average returns are 2.82 coins on A-Q-8 and 2.74 on A-Q.

Aces limit the number of possible straights. If the two suited high cards are K-Q, K-J or Q-J, it’s better to discard the extra suited card and leave open the possibility of a royal. But with an ace involved, the higher-paying option is to hold all three suited cards.

9 of spades, 9 of clubs, 8 of hearts, 7 of diamonds, 6 of spades

Hold one of the 9s, along with 8-7-6. In most games, we’d make the opposite play and hold the pair of 9s, but the 5-for-1 payback on straights drives a change. Average returns are 4.26 coins on 9-8-7-6 and 3.67 on 9-9.

If you find yourself at a DB game that pays 4-for-1 on flushes, hold the pair instead.

Ace of spades, king of spades, queen of spades, 8 of spades, queen of hearts.

There are three viable plays here: Hold the pair of queens to lock in a paying hand; hold the three high spades for a shot at a royal or hold all four spades. The 7-for-1 flush payback makes the difference. Average returns are 7.55 coins on the four spades, 7.23 on the pair of queens or 6.85 on A-K-Q of spades.

Look for John Grochowski on Facebook (http://tinyurl.com/7lzdt44) and Twitter (@GrochowskiJ).

This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net.

QUESTION: I play video poker once a week, a couple of hours at a time. I can be that specific because my wife and I go with friends every Thursday morning. It’s the eight of us, and we never miss a week. We have breakfast, go play, have lunch and come home. Last year was the first in a long time that I didn’t get a single royal flush. ... (read more)

Readers’ tales of big wins almost always come from slot players, with video poker players making up a substantial minority. Rarely do they come from table players. That’s normal given the nature of the games. A huge win on the slots can strike in a single spin. When table players have winning sessions, it usually means grinding out more wins than losses over extended play. ... (read more)

QUESTION: Knowing that we must avoid 6:5 blackjack payoffs should be rule No. 1 for players, but let's assume we have a need to play (whatever the reason) and that's the only game in town, there is really no such thing as "even money" anymore, is there? As an example, we bet $10, have a blackjack and the dealer shows an ace. ... (read more)

Craps players love systems, trying to mix and match bets in hopes of finding the magical formula that will beat the casino. Just about any system will work sometimes, and when a player wins with a system, it encourages another try, and another, and another. In the long run, of course, the casino comes out on top. ... (read more)

It was a Friday morning in Joliet, and I'd been playing a little video poker aboard Empress II, waiting for the 11 a.m. opening of Empress I and its video poker room. Soon, if it hasn't already happened by the time you read this, Empress' new barge will open, ending such little scheduling inconveniences, but on this day, I found myself passing time with a little quarter Triple Play Poker. ... (read more)

A colleague of mine likes to refer to casino comps as "free stuff." And
for those who know their basic strategy in blackjack, optimal strategies
for certain video poker games and who know how comping systems work, the
"stuff" really is free--the value ... (read more)

In the last couple of weeks, we've looked at basic strategy in
blackjack. Sit down at most blackjack tables in any jurisdiction, play
basic strategy and you'll narrow the house edge to a half-percent or so,
perhaps a little more or a little less depending on house rules.
... (read more)

Those whose casino memories stretch back far enough may recall a time
when the standard "Las Vegas Strip" blackjack game was dealt from a
single deck of cards, with the dealer standing on all 17s.
That started to change in the 1960s as operators grew ... (read more)

John Grochowski

John Grochowski is the best-selling author of The Craps Answer Book, The Slot Machine Answer Book and The Video Poker Answer Book. His weekly column is syndicated to newspapers and Web sites, and he contributes to many of the major magazines and newspapers in the gaming field, including Midwest Gaming and Travel, Slot Manager, Casino Journal, Strictly Slots and Casino Player.

Listen to John Grochowski's "Casino Answer Man" tips Tuesday through Friday at 5:18 p.m. on WLS-AM (890) in Chicago. Look for John Grochowski on Facebook and Twitter @GrochowskiJ.

John Grochowski Websites:

Books by John Grochowski:

John Grochowski is the best-selling author of The Craps Answer Book, The Slot Machine Answer Book and The Video Poker Answer Book. His weekly column is syndicated to newspapers and Web sites, and he contributes to many of the major magazines and newspapers in the gaming field, including Midwest Gaming and Travel, Slot Manager, Casino Journal, Strictly Slots and Casino Player.

Listen to John Grochowski's "Casino Answer Man" tips Tuesday through Friday at 5:18 p.m. on WLS-AM (890) in Chicago. Look for John Grochowski on Facebook and Twitter @GrochowskiJ.

RSS FEED LINKS

Casino City is an independent directory and information service free of any gaming operator's control.
Warning: You must ensure you meet all age and other regulatory requirements before entering a
Casino or placing a wager. There are hundreds of jurisdictions in the world with Internet access and
hundreds of different games and gambling opportunities available on the Internet.
YOU are responsible for determining if it is legal for YOU to play any particular games or place any
particular wager.